North hit by spending cuts since Tory austerity while South sees increase in government money, study finds

'The North has been hit hardest by public spending cuts since the coalition government launched its austerity programme, while the South has seen an increase in funds, according to an in-depth study.

Total public spending in the North has fallen £6.3bn since 2009/10, more than any other region, think tank IPPR North concluded.

The South East and South West, meanwhile, has seen a £3.2bn rise.

IPPR North's State Of The North 2018 report, running to 64 pages and covering the North East, North West and Yorkshire and the Humber regions, urges northern political leaders to push the Northern Powerhouse agenda amid the distraction of "Westminster Brexit chaos".

Andy Burnham, mayor of Greater Manchester, said the report showed the "irrefutable case" it was time the North was at the front of the queue for public money.

The study shows weekly pay has fallen by £21 in the North since 2008 in real terms, while two million working-age adults and a million children live in poverty.

The North has also lost 300,000 government jobs since the peak in 2009 and eight of the 10 worst-hit police forces are in the North.

On transport, London has received twice as much transport spending per head than the UK average or the North over the last decade, while London received 41 per cent of all Arts Council England national portfolio grant funding in the 2018-22 programme.

And many of the neighbourhoods with the lowest life expectancy are found in the North, including Salford, Bradford, Sefton and Sunderland and the neighbourhood with the lowest male life expectancy in England is in Blackpool, 68, compared to the England average of 79.'